This invention relates generally to apparatuses for charging or filling containers with fluid substances (hereinafter referred to as filling apparatuses). More particularly, the invention relates to a method and system for preventing containerless discharging wherein the filling apparatus carries out filling operation with respect to a filling station where a container does not exist.
In a filling apparatus, in general, when a filling operation is carried out by a filling nozzle without an empty container in preparatory state immediately below the filling nozzle, the fluid filling material flows out of the nozzle and onto the container platform and gives rise to troublesome dirtying of the apparatus.
Accordingly, in order to prevent this containerless discharging, it has been the general practice heretofore to resort to means by which the fluid material of the quantity for one filling once drawn into the pertinent charging cylinder is pushed back into a tank or hopper at the time of filling by means of the piston and is thus prevented from flowing toward the filling nozzle.
By the use of means of the character referred to above, however, when the filling material is a substance such as, for example, an emulsion of water and an oil, repetition of the action of pushing back of the material once introduced into a charging cylinder gives rise to a separation of the oil as a result of the flowing action, and this gives rise to the problem of lowering of the product quality.